
A BRIEF ACCOUNT 

OF AN 

HISTORIC CHURCH 

THE REFORMED CHURCH 

THE COLLEGIATE CHURCH 

OF THE 

CITT OF NEVYORK 







Class 
Book 



1 /m 






PRESENTED BY 






Compliments of 

The Consistory of 

THE COLLEGIATE REFORMED CHURCH 

OF New York City 

Charles Stewart Phillips, 

Clerk of Consistory 

1 13 Fulton Street, 

Manhattan. N. Y. C. 




ISTORICAL 
SKETCH OF 
THE ORIGIN 
AND ORGANIZATION 
OF THE REFORMED 
CHURCH IN AMERICA 
AND OF THE COLLEGF 
ATE CHURCH OF THE 
CITY OF NE^YORK. 




PUB1I5HED BT THE CONSISTORY 

THIRD EDITION 
A. D. 1904 



:c c t c 



C^ijg i^isitorical ^ftctcl) 

prrparrD b^ t\)t Con0i0tor^ of cljc Collegiate 

Cljurcl), 10 pregenteD Mt\) tbe com^ 

pUmentfif of t\)t ^mi0ter0, 

(Il;lDer0 auD 2r>eacon0« 

It0 Object 

10 to 0et fortl) conci0el^ matters of tncete0t tt^ 

0pectmg tl)e HeformeU Cljurclj in l^oU 

lanD auD America anD of t\)t 

Collegiate Cljurclj of 

il^etD ^ork. 

3!t i)S Dcistratile 

tt)at tbe people be attacbeo to tbe Cburcb— 

not 00 mucb b^ per0onal bonD0, a0 

b^ an intelligent apprecia^ 

tion of it0 bifl^tor^, 

faitbt U0age0 

anD 0pirit» 



Cl)e laeformeti Ct)urcl) 

^^^T an early period of the Reformation the Protes- 
Wl tants on the Continent were divided into two 
"^^^ bodies, the Lutheran and the Reformed. The 
latter became dominant in the Netherlands, where they 
maintained their religious liberties only after a long, 
costly and bloody struggle against the gigantic pov/er 
of Philip II., during which they suffered all that men 
could suffer. So calamitous was their condition before 
the eighty years' war that they gave themselves the 
name of the Church under the 

'^^'N^'rcross."'^'' Cross, and their symbol was -A 
Lily amidst Thorns." 

In 1566, while war was raging, the deputies of the 
churches met in Antwerp and adopted the Belgic Con- 
fession, which continues to this day to be one of the 
doctrinal standards of the Reformed in Holland. 

About the same time the Heidelberg Catechism, 
which had been issued (1563) in German by the Pala- 
tine Elector, Frederick 111., W-is translated into Dutch 
and widely circulated in the Netherlands. 

Doctrinal differences having arisen among the Re- 



AN HISTORIC CHURCH 




^- ^^orf ssoR 0^ ^^^ 




Authors 

Heidelberg- Catechism 



formed, a Synod was convened by the States-General 
atDort(i6i8, 1619,) to which all the 
yno o . Reformed Churches of Europe (save 
Anhalt) were invited to send delegates, and all did 
so; only the four selected by the French were for- 
bidden by the King to attend. The British deputies 
were George Carlton, Bishop of Llandaff; John 
Davenant, Professor of Theology at Cambridge; 
Samuel Ward, of Sidney College, Cambridge, and 
Joseph Hall, afterward Bishop of Norwich. Walter 
Balcanqual, a Scotch presbyter, was also deputed 
by King James to represent the Scottish Church. 
This body expressed its conclusions in Canons under 
five heads of doctrine ; and these Canons were accepted 
by the National Synod. After the foreign delegates 
had withdrawn, the same National Synod revised the 
Belgic Confession and the Heidelberg Catechism and 
the Rules of Church Government, and also set forth 
liturgical forms for use in public worship. 

6 



AN HISTORIC CHURCH 



The Church of Holland, thus fully organized, soon 
became distinguished for learning, soundness in the 
faith and practical godliness. She not only maintained 
a close correspondence with sister churches, but often 




THE SYNOD OF DORT 

FROM ORIGINAL PAINTING IN STADHUIS, DORDRECHT, HOLLAND 



had the advantage of the presence of their distin- 
guished men, since Holland was the common refuge 
of all the persecuted believers in Europe. Huguenots, 
Waldenses, Covenanters and Puritans found a safe 
asylum on her hospitable shores. 




Cl)e laeformeti Cl)urclj 
in ;^mertca. 

^^I'N 1609 Hendrick Hudson, in the ship Half- 

^I Moon, entered New York Bay and sailed up 

,W^ the North River. In 16 14 a trading post was 

established on Manhattan Island, but it was not till 

1623 that a permanent agricultural 

The Early Settlers. ^^^^^^^^^^^ ^,,^ ^.^de. 

The early settlers brought with them the Bible, the 
Catechism and two persons called Krank-beioekers or 
Zieken-t roosters (consolers of the sick), viz., Sebastian 
Jansen Krol and Jan Huyck, who, in the absence of a 
minister, gathered the people together and read to 
them select passages of the Scripture suitably arranged 
for instruction and comfort. But in 1628 the Rev. 
Jonas Michaelius arrived, and in the 
Church Organized. ^^^^^^^^^ ^f ^hat year formally or- 
ganized a church which has had continuous existence 
to this day, and is with reason supposed to be the 
oldest Protestant church on this continent.* 

In 1664 the colony surrendered to the British, and 
New Amsterdam became New York; but this fiict did 

*Tlie Collegiate Church. See page 14. 

8 



AN HISTORIC CHURCH 

not affect the rights of the church, which under the 
new government retained all its former privileges. 

The conquerors required, however, to have worship 
in their own tongue, and, accordingly, the chaplain of 
the English forces officiated. But as he had no proper 
place in which to celebrate divine service an arrange- 
ment was made by which he could 

Churdi in the Fort. , . ^, ^, i • .1 r- 

use ''the Church m the Fort. 
After the Dutch had ended their own morninsr wor- 
ship the Church of England service was read to the 
Governor and the garrison. This custom continued 
for more than thirty years. 

Dutch churches were organized in 1642 at Fort 
Orange (Albany); in i6s4 at Flatbush, L. 1., and in 
1660 in Brooklyn. Others were afterward established 

along the Hudson River and in the 

Other Churches. »* 1 1 -it- n n • xt 

Mohawk Valley, as well as m New 
Jersey and Pennsylvania; and by 1771 the number had 
reached seventy. The growth of the denomination 
was retarded by its dependence upon Holland for 
ministers, and by the retention of the mother tongue 
in public service when English was generally and 
increasingly spoken. Up to 1772 the churches had 
been subject to the control of the ecclesiastical author- 
ities in Holland, but in that year 

'"'^'^'"lished ^'^'^" ^^^ connection was severed and the 
American Church was made inde- 
pendent and self-governed. 

While this Church accepted the standards, polity 
and usages derived from Holland, she has always wel- 
comed additions to her ministry or membership from 
other evangelical bodies. Not a few of these have 



AN HISTORIC CHURCH 

become strongly attached to her character and order, 
and by their loyalty have greatly increased her strength 
and influence. Her chief character- 
istics have been and are, jealousy 
for doctrinal truth, insistence upon an educated min- 
istry, unyielding attachment to her own views of 
faith and order, and a large charity for all others who 
hold to Christ, the Head. 

In the community of Christian churches she is well 
described by the terms — semi-liturgical, non-prelatical. 

DOCTRINAL STANDARDS. 

These are (in addition to the three early creeds, 
the Apostles', the Nicene and the Athanasian) : 

1. The Belgic Confession, originally drawn up by 
the martyr Guido de Bres and corresponding in con- 
tents and spirit with those of all other Reformed 
Churches in Great Britain and the Continent. 

2. The Heidelberg Catechism, the work of Ursinus 
and Olevianus. Being a confession of experience as 
well as of f^iith, it has been translated into well-nigh 
twenty languages, and more widely diffused over the 
world than any other catechism. 

3. The Canons of the Synod of Dort. These are the 
carefully prepared articles on what are known as the 
Five Points of Calvinism. Although clear and decided 
in character, they are so genial in tone and expression 
as to have won favor among all the Reformed. 

GOVERNMENT. 

The Reformed Church in America, while recog- 
nizing with all the other Reformed Churches the 



Deacons. 



AN HISTORIC CHURCH 

threefold ministry, yet makes four classes of church 
officers : 

1. Ministers of the Word. 

2. Teachers of Theology (Professors). 

3. Elders. 

4. Deacons. 

The two former are of the same order, but with 
different functions. The two latter are chosen for two 
years, but are eligible for re-election at the close of 
their term. 

The spiritual government is in the 
hands of the Elders, at the head of 
whom in the local church stands the Minister. 

The specific duty of the Deacons 
is to care for the poor of the church.* 

OFFICIAL BODIES. 

The Minister, Elders and Deacons constitute the 
Consistory, which has control of all 
temporalities. 

Above the Consistory is the Classis, which consists 
of one Minister and one Elder from 
each church in a certain district. 

Above the Classis is the Particular Synod com- 
posed of lay and clerical delegates 

Particular Synod. . ^ • ^ c r^^ 

from a certam number of Classes. 
The supreme judicatory is the General Synod, which 
meets annually, and is composed of 
yno . delegates from all the Classes. 

* In his "Christian Institutions," Dean Stanley remari<s concerning the order of 
Deacons in the early Church that "The only institution which retains the name and 
reality, is the Diaconate as it exists in the Dutch Church." 

1 I 



Consistory. 



L.ofO. 



AN HISTORIC CHURCH 
WORSHIP. 

The Reformed Church in America, like all the Re- 
formed Churches of the Continent, has a Liturgy, the 
use of which, however, is in part 
1 urgy optional. The use of the Offices 

for the administration of Baptism and the Lord's Sup- 
per, for Ordination and for Discipline, and the obser- 
vance of the Order of Public Worship are made obli- 
gatory by the constitution. In regard to other ob- 
servances there is freedom. Some 
churches carefully observe Good 
Friday, and some of the great festivals of the church 
year, such as Christmas, Easter, Ascension Day and 
Whitsun-Day ; others do not. 



EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. 

Theological Seminaries. 

1. At New Brunswick, New Jersey. 

2. At Holland, Michigan. 

3. At Arcot, India. 

Colleges and Academies 

1. Rutgers College (formerly Queen's), at 

New Brunswick, New Jersey. 

2. Hope College, at Holland, Michigan. 

3. North-western Classical Academy, at 

Orange City. Iowa. 

4. Pleasant Prairie College, at German Val- 

ley, Illinois. 



AN HISTORIC CHURCH 
AGFNCIES 

1. Board of Direction. Is the custodian o( the funds 
belonging to the General Synod. 

2. Board of Foreign Missions. Maintains stations 
in Arcot, India; Amoy, China; Japan and Arabia. 

3. Board of Domestic Missions. Aids feeble 
churches, especially at the West, and seeks to estab- 
lish new ones where they are needed. 

4. Board of Education. Assists young men in ob- 
taining an education for the Ministry. 

5. Board of Publication. Issues denominational and 
other evangelical literature, and maintains an extensive 
book depository. 

6. The Widows' Fund provides for the widows and 
children of such Ministers as have had an interest in it. 

7. The Disabled Ministers' Fund is for the relief of 
Ministers who are laid aside by age or infirmity. 

8. The Church Building Fund aids in erecting 
Churches for new enterprises not yet self-supporting. 

9. Woman's Board of Foreign Missions. Seeks to 
carry the Gospel to women and children in India, 
China> Japan and Arabia. 

10. Woman's Executive Committee of the Board of 
Domestic Missions. Aids in building parsonages, and 
otherwise forwarding the cause. It also maintains 
missions among the American Indians and the Ken- 
tucky Mountaineers. 

The offices of all these Boards are located in the 
RfcFORMED Church Building, 
2t East Twenty-second Street, New York, 

where is also the office of the Missionary Leaoue of 
the Society of Christian Endeavor. 

n 



AN HISTORIC CHURCH 
PERIODICALS 

The following Periodicals are issued in the interest 
of the Reformed Church in America: 

The Christian Intelligencer, weekly. 
The Mission Field, monthly. 
The Mission Gleaner, bi-monthly. 
The Day Star, monthly — for the young. 



Having outlined the origin and organization of the 
denomination, it remains to speak of the growth of 
its oldest church, commonly known as the *' Collegiate 
Church." This, as has been stated,* was constituted 
in 1628, but was not incorporated until 1696, when 
William III, of England, granted a royal charter under 
the title,— 

''The Reformed Protestant Dutch Church 
OF THE City of New York," 
a title which has never been altered. 

Each of the churches has a tablet on which these 
facts are concisely stated. 



® fCiiULi^sjnng} @ 


telMiiDftM^ini»?fwaiii Q^ 


m msE OUTFIT mw Y<mi 


mmmtm wise ^wm ¥mmt 


mmrn^^ m^'^mnt Mnw M]sin){im»a 


^^Am 


mm^m mwm^^ m ttis ©?Ewjifi®w 


^^.m(h 


rm miwm^ ^^s issig^rii© 


@ ^©oi)©§4}. ^. 



See page < 



FAC-SIMILE OF ONE OF THE BRONZE TABLETS 



>4 




CoUegtate laeformeD Cl)urcl) 
1904 



CHE Collegiate Church maintains at present eight 
places of worship. These are under the care 
of one Consistory. This body has the general 
powers of all like bodies in the Reformed Church. 
The twelve Elders and twelve Deacons who constitute 
the Consistory are chosen from the membership wor- 
shiping in the several churches. 

In the early history of New York, when the popula- 
tion began to increase and a second church became 
necessary, and one minister could no longer attend to 
the duties required of him by a double service, the 
Consistory called a second minister, who, being duly 
installed, became the colleague of the first. pTom this 
comes the name by which the church is familiarly 
known — The Collegiate Church. 

For very many years these ministers and their suc- 
cessors preached in rotation. As the population in- 
creased and became more extended, it was deemed 
best to discontinue this custom; and when tendering 

»5 



AN HISTORIC CHURCH 

a call to a new minister, to designate the special church 
in which he was to labor. 

There is still, however, but one Collegiate Church 
of New York,* although there are now several church 
edifices. The regularly installed ministers are still 
colleagues and preside in turn at the monthly meetings 
of the Consistory. Those who unite with the Col- 
legiate Church of New York should therefore feel an 
interest in her general welfare, as the different congre- 
gations are but parts of the same church, members 
of one body, pervaded by a common life, and having 
a common interest. 

The records of baptisms, members and marriages 
have been continued and preserved from 1639. 

It is interesting to know that there are two very old 




REPRODUCTION OF THE ANCIENT BAPTISMAL BASINS 

1 796- 1 744 
silver Baptismal Basins of antique design in possession 
of the Church. On the border of one is engraved the 



* There is also in the upper part of the city The Collegiate Church of Harlem^ 
which is a distinct organization, although connected with the denomination. 

16 



AN HISTORIC CHURCH 

seal of the Church and the date— 1744; also an in- 
scription, of which the following is a translation : 

" To inherit eternal life, in after life, O man, 

Be cleansed in Christ's blood, and thus before death die. 

Who in God's Son does live, life everlasting has, 

And lives through the true faith, who in that love does live." 

The Other basin bears the simple inscription: "The 
North Church— 1706." 

These sacred relics of those early days are both in 
good preservation, and may continue to serve their 
purpose through centuries yet to come. 

The following sketch of the church which was 
planted on Manhattan Island by the first settlers, 
shows an unbroken line of Ministers and officers for 
over two hundred and seventy-five years. 

The first religious services on Manhattan Island, 
which in 1628 resulted in the organization of a church, 
were held in a large upper room over the mill which 
ground the colonists' grain. In the Spring of 1633, the 
Rev. Everardus Bogardus having succeeded Domine 
Michaelius, a church was erected, a plain wooden 
building, on the banks of the East River, on the site 
now known as }3 Pearl Street. 

It is interesting to record the fact that the tirst Elder 
of the Collegiate Church was Peter Minuit, the Director 
General of New Netherland. He was chosen to that 
office when the Church was organized in 1628. 




FAC- SIMILE OF SIGNATURE OF PETER MINUIT 

'7 



AN HISTORIC CHURCH 

In 1642, during the rule of Governor Kieft, the 
Colony had so far increased that a new church was 
imperatively needed. It was built of stone with a roof 
of heavy split oaken shingles. It had a conspicuous 
tower, which was surmounted with a weathercock. 

On one of the old houses, No. 4 Bowling Green, 
near the Battery,* was once a large bronze tablet with 
the following inscription: 

''The Site of Fort Amsterdam, 

BUILT IN 1626. 

Within the fortifications 

WAS erected the first 
substantial Church edifice 
ON THE Island of Manhattan." 
This Church was 70 feet long, 52 feet wide and 16 feet 
high, with a peaked roof and tower. '■' The Church in 
the Fort," as it is often called, was then known as St. 
Nicholas Church. It accommodated the people for 
over fifty years, its stone walls often serving as a rally- 
ing place and refuge in many an alarm of Indian foray 
and massacre. On the front of the church was a stone 
tablet with this inscription: 

"An. Dom. MDCXLII., 
W. KiEFT DiR. Gen. Heeft de Gemeente 

DESE TEMPEL DOEN BOUWKN." 

**A. D. 1642, W. Kieft being Director-General, has 
caused the congregation to build this temple." 

On the bell which hung in the church tower was 
inscribed : "Dulcior E nostris tiiuutibiis resonat aer. 
P. Hemouy me fecit 16^4." \ 

* The new U. S. Custom House is being erected on this site C1904). 

t " The air resounds sweeter from our ringing. P. Hemony made me." 

18 



AN HISTORIC CHURCH 

The illustration on page 19 is a fac -simile of ^n 
original drawing, in its ancient frame, in possession 
of the New York Historical Society. It was made by 
Laurens Hermansz Block and shows New Amsterdam 
with the ''Church in the Fort" as seen from the ship 
" Lydia" in 1650. An illustration is also given on page 
21 of the original drawing accompanying the manu- 
script of the two Labadist travelers who visited New 
York in 1679, twenty-nine years later. 

By 1687, however, the old church had become too 
small for the increasing numbers. Steps were there- 
fore taken by the Consistory to build a new church on 
what was then called Garden Street, now Exchange 
Place. The land on which the edifice was erected was 
adjacent to the orchard and flower garden of the widow 
of Domine Drisius. The structure was of brick with 
a steeple on a large square foundation, so as to admit of 
a room over the vestibule for the meetings of the Con- 
sistory. By some authorities it is claimed to have been 
the finest church edifice then in the colonies. It was 
dedicated in 1693. The windows were long and nar- 
row and fitted with small panes of glass set in lead, 
on which were burned the coats-of-arms of the princi- 
pal parishoners. The bell, pulpit and furniture of the 
old church were transferred to the new, and many 
escutcheons of leading families hung against the 
walls. For plate, the people contributed silverware 
and money, which was sent over to the silver workers 
of Amsterdam, who hammered out for them a com- 
munion set and a large baptismal basin. 

The first church organ used in New York sounded 
its notes within these walls, for in 1720 Governor 




r ' 


;:i Lsl 




llllll 




1 


f J .. «E 




q , .- H 


* J 


•: :: 




AN HISTORIC CHURCH 

Burnet brought one over and presented it to the 
Consistory. 

It is a memorable fact that the Rev. William Vesey, 
the first Rector of Trinity Church, was inducted into 
that office in this building, Trinity Church not being 
yet completed. At the request of the English Gov- 
ernor two Ministers from the Dutch Church assisted 
in the service. 

The Garden Street Church, often called the South 
Dutch Church, did not long figure as the principal 
church. Another, quite as notable in the history of the 
city, was erected in 1729, by the order of the Consis- 
tory, on Nassau Street, between Cedar and Liberty 
Streets, to which they gave the name of the New 
Dutch Church, and the other naturally became known 
as the Old Church. These names were retained for 
forty years, until it was decided to erect still another 
farther north, when the new church was designated 
the Middle Church and the others respectively the 
South Church and North Church, by which names 
they were always afterward known. 

The Old South Church continued in active use 
until 1766, when it was enlarged and repaired. A 
generation later, in 1807, having stood a hundred and 
fourteen years, it was taken down and a more com- 
modious edifice erected on its site. This building was 
entirely destroyed in the great conflagration of 183s. 

During the early history of the Collegiate Church 
the services were conducted in the Dutch language 
and the order of public worship conformed to that of 
the Mother Church in Holland. The fore singer, or 
clerk, whose place was at a desk beneath the pulpit. 




THE FIRST GARDEN STREET CHURCH, 1693 
(old south church) 



23 



AN HISTORIC CHURCH 

or in one end of the deacon's pew, began the morning 
service by admonishing the people to " Hear with rev- 
erence the Word of the Lord" ; he then read the Ten 
Commandments, and announced the Psalm to be sung. 
During the singing the Minister entered, stood rev- 
erently for a few moments at the foot of the pulpit 




M^ rs 



THE SECOND GARDEN STREET CHURCH, I 807 
(south church) 



Stairs engaged in silent prayer, then ascended the pul- 
pit and continued the service. 

He preached with the hour glass before him, know- 
ing that if he exceeded the limit it would be the duty 
of the clerk to remind him of it by three raps of his 
cane. At the conclusion of the sermon the clerk in- 

24 



AN HISTORIC CHURCH 

serted in the end of his staff the public notices to be 
read and handed them up to the Minister. This duty 
performed, the deacons rose in their pews, the Minister 
delivered a short homily on the duty of remembering 
the poor, and the deacons passed through the congre- 
gation, each bearing a long pole, on the end of which 




GER. VAN WAGENEN 

VOORSANGER (foRE SINGEr) IN I733 

a small black velvet bag was suspended to receive the 
offerings. 

The afternoon service was begun as in the morning, 
by the clerk, when the Apostles' or Nicene Creed was 
read instead of the Commandments. At the close of 
every service, when the Minister descended, the elders 
and deacons stood to receive him, and each gave the 

25 



AN HISTORIC CHURCH 

right hand in token of approval. When the Lord's 
Supper was administered, the communicants stood 
around the Communion table, which was placed 
below the pulpit, the Minister addressing each mem- 
ber as he handed the elements, or the clerk reading 
aloud a suitable chapter from the Prophecy of Isaiah or 
the Gospel of St. John. 

The order of worship now in use is in accordance 
with the revised Liturgy. 

The custom of collecting the alms in bags, appears 
to have been continued until after the Revolution, 
when several members of the church presented silver 
collection plates to the Consistory. Each plate bears 
the name of a different donor, the name of the church, 
and the date of the gift — 1792. They are still in use 
every Sunday. 

Of the Collegiate Churches the Middle Dutch Church 
plays the most important part in the history. It was 
a spacious edifice, one hundred by seventy feet within 
the walls, its ceiling being an entire arch without 
pillars. It had a bell tower at the north end, and the 
spire, as usual, was surmounted with a weather- 
cock. It was in its day the scene of several interesting 
events. 

Here it was that preaching in the English language 
was first introduced in the Dutch Church. During 
the Colonial days the services were conducted in the 
language of the Netherlands ; but in April, 1764, a 
change was made in response to the request of a large 
number of those who worshipped in this place. The 
first sermon in English was preached by the Rev. Dr. 
Laidlie, a graduate of the University of Edinburgh, 

26 




J/o l/ieSCo/wuraUe 

HIP VAN DAM.Ev. 






llEDUCEB FaC-SiMILE OF Pill.NT PuBLlSULD 1731 

Tngraved byW. I1owi-a.md. 

THE OLD MIDDLE CHURCH, NASSAU STREET, 1 729 



AN HISTORIC CHURCH 

who had just been installed as one of the Collegiate 
Ministers. 

On September i6, 1776, as a result of the Battle of 
Long Island, the British took possession of the city. 
One of their tlrst acts was to seize the churches, de- 
spoil them of their furniture and turn them into hospi- 
tals, riding schools, barracks or prisons. This was due 
to the loyalty of the Dutch to the Continental cause. 
The entire interior of the Middle Church was de- 
stroyed, leaving only the bare walls and the roof. It 
was then used as a prison and afterward as a riding 
school by the British dragoons. After the Revolution 
it was restored and refurnished and services were re- 
sumed. It was kept in constant use until 1844, a 
total period of one hundred and fifteen years. 

On the corner of Nassau and Cedar Streets, a bronze 
tablet marks this historic spot. It is thus inscribed : 

" Here stood the Middle Dutch Church erected 1729 

MADE A British Military Prison 1776 

Restored 1790 

Occupied by U. S. P. O. 1845-75 

Taken down 1882." 

Probably the next in interest, of the Collegiate 
Churches, is the one built in 1769, on William Street, 
corner of Fulton. This Church was the first one 
erected exclusively for English services. While it 
stood, it was, therefore, a m.emorial of the great tran- 
sition which the community made from the tongue of 
Grotius and William the Silent, to that of Milton and 
Hooker. When the building was taken down in 187s, 
a metallic plate was found under the pillar which sup- 

28 




THE NORTH CHURCH, FULTON STREET, 1 769 



AN HISTORIC CHURCH 



XHIS CHURCH WAS BVILT BY THE CONGREGATION 
OF THE REFORMED PROTESTANT DUTCH CHURCH lit 
THEClTYOFNE;W^ORKrOR.ETSGLTSH SerUICE UTiTDERTHE 
mSPECTIOH OFACOMMITTE OF 
3BLDERS DEACONS 

feTERMARSCHAIU: TSAAC ROSE UELT 

PETER lOTT ADRIAN BANCKER 

iSoiLN^BOGERT ANDREwfeARScHALX 

TbeodoruSVait WYcX Garret abeel 

ANDREW' B REE S TED Tu"^ CARPENTERAND rROlECXOR 

foHK stagg Faster Saso wand' Alex bates 
^ THE FIRST Stone WAJIA ID Iuly2 lyoy BY 

M^ lACOBUS R05EUELT Sen £IDER 

The Wails BUii/T TO receiue the Roof fuNE \j i^oZ 
, these pillarsreared luNE 2| 17^^ 

^HE FIKSTfiNGlISfH MINISTER FOR THE DUTCH 
CONGREGATION THE RED ARCHIBALD lAIDLIE \j6^ 
|EACE*BEWITHEN»THIS SACRED ¥lACE 

^ And holy^giftS^and heauenlyGrace 
Tobias "VAN ZAND T IcLERit g^zzl fbcit 



FAC-SIMILE OF THE METALLIC PLATE 

ported the gallery nearest the pulpit, upon which is set 
forth a brief history of the Church, and its projectors. 
This plate now attests the great historical fact referred 
to, and a fac-simile of this very interesting relic is 
shown above. The Church was a large stone edifice 
in the Roman style of architecture, with a com- 
manding tower. The ten Corinthian pillars which 
supported the ceiling were noticeable; at the top of 
each of them were carved and gilded the initials of the 

30 



AN HISTORIC CHURCH 










■" n I »li-' -C»*I>- '' 




i: o 
I t 



AN HISTORIC CHURCH 

generous contributors to the erection of the church. 
In this church were two large square pews sur- 
mounted by a canopy, one on the right of the pulpit 
for the Governor and the other on the left for the 
Mayor and Aldermen. The great bell, which for so 
many years summoned the people to service, now 
ornaments the yard of the church on Fifth Avenue, 
corner Twenty-ninth Street. 

During the Revolution, the British took posses- 
sion of this church also ; removed its furniture and 
turned it into a hospital and prison. It is believed that 
during the war the pulpit was taken to England, for 
there is in a parish church there, one which was 
brought from America and strongly resembles that 
which once stood in the Old North Church. After 
the English evacuated the city the church was restored 
and reopened for worship, and was not again closed 
until 187=^, when it gave place to a business ware- 
house. Here it was that, in 1857, the Fulton Street 
Noonday Prayer Meeting, which now has a world- 
wide reputation, had its birth. This meeting has been 
maintained ever since by the Collegiate Church in a 
chapel on the same ground. 

As the increase of commerce drove the resident pop- 
ulation northward, it became necessary to provide still 
another house of worship in a locality accessible to the 
homes of the people; therefore, in 1839, the church on 
Fourth Street and LaHiyette Place was erected, which 
at that time was considered very far uptown. It 
was built of granite, adorned with twelve Ionic col- 
umns, each a monolith. The building resembled the 
Temple of Erectheus at Athens. The interior was 

32 



AN HISTORIC CHURCH 

very effective, especially its beautiful pulpit of statuary 
marble, white, chaste and simple. 

From a very early period it was customary to see 
the ministers walk, on the Lord's Day, from their 
houses to the church, wearing their black silk Geneva 
gowns. About the middle of the present century this 




::r:^ 



THE MIDDLE CHURCH, LAFAYETTE PLACE, 



839 



custom was discontinued, the vestry of each church 
being furnished with the proper vestments. 

In 1887 the church was taken down; and to meet 
the present needs of this section of the city, the beau- 
tiful Gothic church and church house on Second Ave- 
nue and Seventh Street were built, a description of 
which appears hereafter. (See page 38.) 



AN HISTORIC CHURCH 

Since i8=>o the Collegiate Church has erected four 
edifices, all of which are now standing. Each one is 
a centre of active Christian work adapted to the loca- 
tion of the church. 

Sfifti) aticnuc and tBVDtnt^^nintl) ^trttu 

The church at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 
Twenty-ninth Street was opened for worship in i8s4. 
It is built of Hastings marble, in the Romanesque 
style of architecture. It has a massive clock and bell 
tower, terminating in a spire two hundred and fifteen 
feet from the ground, which is surmounted by a 
weathercock (six feet six inches high), after the cus- 
tom of the earlier churches. The interior has twice 
undergone thorough repairs and redecorating. The 
recent alterations were made in iSgi, when stained- 
glass windows were put in; the pulpit was rearranged 
and a new organ added, which is connected by elec- 
tric wires with the grand organ in the tower. 

In 1878 a most interesting service took place in this 
building on the occasion of the celebration of the 
Quarter-millennial Anniversary of the Collegiate 
Church, when the clergy from the Episcopal, Methodist, 
Baptist, Presbyterian and Congregational Churches 
brought greetings and congratulations. 

In the court-yard stands the bell cast in Amster- 
dam in 179s for the old North Church on Fuhon 
Street. 

The Rev. David J. Burrell, D.D.. LL.D., has min- 
istered to the congregation worshiping here, since May 
24, 1 89 1.* 

* For other ck-rgy officiating at this church, see page 50. 

34 




THE CHURCH ON FIFTH AVENUE AND TWENTY-NINTH STREET 

DEDICATED OCTOBER II, 1854 



35 



AN HISTORIC CHURCH 

iFiftl) Bbenur anD f ort^^eiglitl) Street. 

The church at Fifth Avenue and Forty- eighth Street 
was dedicated in 1872. Its style is the decorated 
Gothic of the fourteenth century, the flying buttresses 
and the elaborate carving about the entrances being 
especially noteworthy. The spire is one of the highest 




THE HISTORIC BtlL. PRESENTED BY COLONEL ABRAHAM DE PEYSTER 

and most graceful in the city. In the tower hangs the 
old historic bell cast in Amsterdam in 1731 and rung 
for many years in the tower of the old Middle Dutch 
Church on Nassau Street. When the city was cap- 
tured by the British, the bell was taken down and se- 
creted, but was replaced after the evacuation. In the 
spires of the different churches in the march north- 
ward it has been rung on all national fete days, and it 
still calls the worshipers to service every Sunday. In 
the Consistory room may be seen the large portraits 
in oil of all the ministers in the succession, from 

5^ 




THE CHURCH ON FIFTH A\ ENUE AND FORTY-EIGHTH STREET 

DEDICATED NOVEMBER 28, 1872 



37 



AN HISTORIC CHURCH 

Domine Du Bois, who in 1699 began his ministry in 
this city and preached in the "Church in the Fort," 
down to the present day. Here also is kept the 
Church Library, which was established for the pur- 
pose of preserving and recording books, manuscripts 
and papers which are of historic interest. 

The Rev. Donald Sage Mackay, D.D., has ministered 
to the congregation worshipping here, since January 
22, 1899.* 

In 1891 two churches were erected, each to supply 
a special need. In order to carry on aggressive work 
in the populous portion of the city " below Fourteenth 
Street" a church, with parish house attached, was 
built on Second Avenue and Seventh Street, furnished 
with all the modern appTances for this special work. 




THE COAT-OF-ARMS OF JOHN HARPENDINCK 

The parish house contains reading-room, class-rooms 
and a well-equipped gymnasium. As a unique feature 
of the church architecture it is well to note the beauti- 
ful memorial windows which receive their only light 

* For other clergy officiating at this church see page 50. 

3H 




THE NEW MIDDLE CHURCH ON SECOND AVENUE NEAR SEVENTH STREET 

DEDICATED JUNE 26, 1 892 



39 



AN HISTORIC CHURCH 

by means of electricity. The large rose window is in 
memory of the long line of deceased ministers. The 
memory of the " illustrious men who laid the founda- 
tions of Church and State in the Metropolis of the na- 
tion " is here perpetuated by three beautiful Mural Tab- 
lets. The persons thus memorialized are : Peter Minuit, 
the First Colonial Governor, A.D. 1626, and one of the 
two elders chosen when the church was organized, 
A.D. 1628 ; Sebastian Jansen Krol and Jan Huyck, The 
Krankenbezockers (Visitors of the Sick), A.D. 1626 ; 
and Jonas Michaelius, First Minister, A.D. 1628. The 
quaint coat-of-arms of John Harpendinck is preserved 
in this place. It is treasured as commemorative of his 
munificent gift of land, bequeathed to the Collegiate 
Church in 1723. This ancient relic hung for many 
generations in the Old North Church, on Fulton Street, 
above the pulpit. 

The Rev. John G. Fagg, D.D., has ministered to the 
congregation worshiping here, since January 12, 1896.* 

Wit&t (Il;nli atjenue anD ^etient^^ ^eticntti ^tvctu 

The other church erected in 1891, and the last one 
dedicated, is on West End Avenue and Seventy-sev- 
enth Street. This was built to accommodate the large 
number of families who were moving into that section 
of the city. The Flemish style of architecture em- 
ployed is historically appropriate. The corner-stone 
is inscribed: "Organized A. D. 1628 — Erected 1891." 

The interior is particularly beautiful. It is a good 
example of Dutch architecture adapted to modern 
uses: the roof is of heavy dark timber beams, the sup- 

*For other clergy officiating at this church see page 50. 

40 




> do 

M — 

1 S 

a 

I ^ 

> ^ 
< Q 

u 

Q i5 



AN HISTORIC CHURCH 

porting iirches rest on pillars of purple Knoxville mar- 
ble. The pulpit is a handsome piece of carved oak. 
the panels showing the coat-of-arms of the Reformed 
church, and the seal of the Collegiate Church. The 
armorial window at the south end is worthy of de- 
tailed examination. 

The Rev. Henry Evertson Cobb, D D , has minis- 
tered to the congregation worshiping here, since Jan- 
uary 8, 1893.* 



Besides the churches enumerated, the Consistory has 
under its care three congregations on the West Side. 

307 WEST THIRTY-FOURTH STREET. 

The congregations formerly worshiping in the De 
Witt Chapel on Twenty-ninth Street, and the Thiity- 
fourth Street Reformed Church were consolidated in 
189s, and the entire membership is now enrolled in 
the Collegiate Church. The work is under the care of 
Rev. Robert W. Courtney, who assumed charge in 
1904, and is conducted in the building erected in i860 
by the Thirty-fourth Street Reformed Church, which 
was acquired by the Collegiate Church (in 1895) at the 
time of the consolidation. 

iUnor ^rmoriaU 

405-409 WEST FORTY-FIRST STREET. 

This edifice, one of the most beautiful and complete 
church buildings in New York, was finished and dedi- 
cated in i8q8. and is the third building erected by the 
Consistory for the accommodation of this work, which 

'■"- For other clergy officating at this church see page 50. 

42 




THE CHURCH ON WEST THIRTY-FOURTH STREET, NEAR EIGHTH AVENUE 

ERECTED i860 



4-5 



AN HISTORIC CHURCH 

has had an unbroken and prosperous existence since 
1858. The building is of an English Gothic design 
with a front of Indiana limestone. The interior is 
graced by two handsome memorial windows. In the 
Church and Sunday-school rooms there is accommoda- 
tion for over two thousand persons, with ample facilities 
for the spiritual, moral and intellectual improvement 
during the week of all who come within the reach of 
this Church. The Rev. Edward G. W. Meury is in 
charge. 

The work was formerly carried on in the Chapel on 
Ninth Avenue near Thirty-eighth Street, which was 
the second structure erected on that site by the Colle- 
giate Church for the Knox Memorial. 

416 WEST FIFTY-FOURTH STREET. 

The work of this Chapel is carried on in the new 
building of the Helping Hand Association on Fifty- 
fourth Street, west of Ninth Avenue. It is supported 
by the congregations of the Forty-eighth Street Church 
and the West End Avenue Church. The Rev. Win- 
fred R. Ackert is in charge. 

jTulton Street l^ra^rr £^fcting* 

I 13 FULTON STREhT, 

This daily prayer meeting at noon has now a world- 
wide reputation. It was begun in 18=^7. Its oppor- 
tunities and privileges have ever been open to all 
friends of Christ of whatever name. 

The expenses incident to the maintenance of this ser- 
vice have always been borne by the Collegiate Church. 

44 




KNOX MEMORIAL, ON FORTY-FIRST STREET, NEAR NINTH AVENUE 

DEDICATED 1898 



45 



AN HISTORIC CHURCH 



€]^e ^ucce0)Sion of ^^inijsterjs 

CHROUGHOUT her long history the Collegiate 
Church has always been greatly blessed in her 
Ministry. 

Conspicuous among the ministers of the last cen- 
tury are Dr. Laidlie, the first English preacher, a man 
of consummate discretion united with glowing zeal ; 
Dr. Livingston, the first Professor of Theology at 
Queen's College, a man of wonderful influence and 
varied usefulness ; and Dr Linn, Chaplain of the House 
of Representatives in the First Congress under the 
Federal Constitution, renowned for his eloquence. 



Jonas Michaelius, 
everardus bogardus, 
Johannes Backerus, 
Johannes Megapolensis, 
Samuel Drisius, 
Samuel Megapolensis, . 
WiLHELMUS Van Niewenhuysen, 
Henricus Selyns, 
Gualterus Du Bois, 
Henricus Boel, 
Johannes Ritzema, 
Lambertus De Ronde, . 
Archibald Laidlie, 
John Henry Livingston, 
William Linn, 

Gerardus Arense Kuypers, 
John Neilson Abeel, 
John Schureman, 

46 



{ch 



ca) 



I 63 3- I 647 
1647-1649 
1649-1669 
1652-1673 
I 664- I 668 
1671-1682 
1 682- 1 701 
1699-17SI 

1713-1754 
1744-1784 
1751-1784 
1 764- 1 779 
1 770-1 8 12 
1785-1805 
1789-1833 
1795-1812 
1809-1812 




FORMER MINISTERS OF THE COLLEGIATE CHURCH 
(copied from the portraits) 



AN HISTORIC CHURCH 



Jacob Brodhead, 


1809- 


1813 


Philip Milledoler, . . 


1813- 


1825 


John Knox, .... 


1816- 


i8s8 


Paschal Nelson Strong, 


1816- 


182s 


William Craig Brownlee, . 


• 1826- 


i860 


Thomas De Witt, 


1827- 


1874 


Thomas Edward Vermilye, 


1839- 


1893 


Talbot Wilson Chambers, 


1849- 


1896 


Joseph Tuthill Duryea, 


i852- 


1867 


James Meeker Ludlow, 


1868- 


1877 


William Ormiston, 


1870- 


1888 


Edward Benton Coe, 


1879- 




David James Burrell. 


1891- 




Donald Sage Mackay, 


189Q- 




Henry Evertson Cobb, 


1903- 






John Gerardus Fagg, 


1903- 




Assistant Ministers. 






John Hutchins, .... 


1892- 


1895 


Henry Evertson Cobb, 


189?- 


1903 


John Gerardus Fagg, 


1896- 


1903 


Ferdinand Schureman Schenck . 


1897- 


1899 



The portraits of the former Ministers, which are here 
reproduced include all those now hanging in the Con- 
sistory room. The Church has never been able to 
procure those of an earlier date. 




FORMER MINISTERS OF THE COLLEGIATE CHURCH 

fcOPIED FROM THE PORTRAITS) 



AN HISTORIC CHURCH 

flDffictatt'ng Clersr* 

A. 1). 1904 



The Rev. Edward B. Coe, D.D., LL.D., Senior 

Minister. 
The Rev. David Jas. Burrell, D.D., LL.D. 

The Rev. Alfred E. Myers, Assistant. 

The Rev. Otto L. F. Mohn, Assistant. 
The Rev. Donald Sage Mackay, D.D. 

The Rev. Andrew Hageman, Assistant. 
The Rev. Henry Evertson Cobb, D.D. 

The Rev. Herman C. Weber, Assistant. 
The Rev. John Gerardus Fagg, D.D. 

The Rev. Floyd Decker, Assistant. 
The Rev. Winfred R. Ackert. 
The Rev. Edward G. VV. Meury. 
The Rev. Robert W. Courtney. 

Divine service is held every Lord's Day, morning 
and evening. 

The mid-week service is on Wednesday evening. 

The " Fulton Street Prayer Meeting" is held daily at 
noon. 



50 



AN HISTORIC CHURCH 



cBjcplanation of tl)c imottocjs 



emblem of t\)t Ucformeti €\\ntt\) in amenca 




" NISI DOMINUS, FRUSTRA. 

Without the Lord all is vain. 



EENDRACHT MAAKT MACHT. 

Union or Harmony makes strength. 



g)eal of tbe Collegiate Cljurc^ 

Jehovah. 




SIG- ECCL-PROT-BELG- REFORM- NEO- 
EBORACIENSIS. " 

Seal of the Reformed Protestant Belgic 
Church of New York. 



* VERITATE." 
With Truth. 



BIBLIA. 
Bible. 

51 



' PIETATE. 
With Piety. 




THE COLLEGIATE SCHOOL 

241-243 WtST SEVENTY-SEVENTH STREET 



52 



Cl)c Collegiate ^cl^DOl 



3MMEDIATELY adjoining the Church on Seventy- 
seventh Street is a picturesque building for the 
use of the Collegiate day school. 

This school has a continuous history running back 
to the earlv settlement of Manhattan Island. In 1626 
Peter Minuit commenced his administration as Director- 
General of the New Netherland, and the building of 
this city really dates from that time. Within seven 
years thereafter, or in 1633, with Wouter Van T wilier 
Director-General of the Colony, came Adam Roelant- 
sen, the first schoolmaster, who founded this school, 
which is now the oldest educational institution in 
existence in America. 

Although over two hundred and seventy years old, it 
is still in a most flourishing condition. It stands for a 
great and important idea, the idea that education and 
reliction can never be dissociated from one another. 
The connection of the school with the church was 
characteristic of the early Reformed Churches. 



53 



Clje gear iBoofc 

CHE Consistory issues a Year Book every Spring, 
which contains a detailed account of the work 
carried on throughout the Church, a list of the Church 
officers, and a biographical sketch of one of the Min- 
isters. 

Copies may be had by application at the office of 
the Collegiate Church, 1 13 Fulton Street. 



54 



B 



CI)e Ct)urcl) emblem 

•I- 

NE of the many historic reminders of the fiithers 
in Holland, of which the Reformed Church in 
America is justly proud, is the coat-of-arms 
of "William the Silent," Prince of Orange. He 
led the cause of the Reformation against the Pope and 
Philip II. in 1568, and when success was attained the 
churches had rest from persecution. The earliest rec- 
ord of the shield of Prince William is on a medal which 
was struck by Charles V. in 1556. 

The Reformed Church in America first began to use 
the emblem, as it now appears, about seventy-five 
years ago, when it was printed on the "Magazine of 
the Reformed Dutch Church." The Latin motto — N/st 
Dominiis Fnistra — "Without the Lord all is vain," 
and the Dutch, Eendracht maakt macht — "Union 
makes Strength, "are now placed on ribbons above and 
below the shield, and the columns act as supports to it. 
Although originally none of these belonged to the coat- 
of-arms, they have been so long associated with it that 
they have properly become part of the emblem which 
is now so well known throughout the church. 



AN HISTORIC CHURCH 

The various armorial bearings on the three shields 
originate from the fact that the princes of Orange were 
also lords of other principalities. When a number of 
provinces came under one leadership, the right to make 
use of the emblems of all centered in one person. 
Thus we have on the large shield the four shields of 
Nassau, Katzenelnbogen, Vianden and Dietz; on the 
small shields at the centre^ composing the second 
shield, are those of the united provinces of Chalons and 
Orange, while the very smallest shield, which is divided 
into squares, is there by reason of the marriage of Jane 
of Geneva to one of the princes of Orange. 

It is interesting to note that the first quarter of the 
large shield bears the arms of Nassau, the capital of 
which was the birthplace of *' William the Silent." It 
has a lion rampant, surrounded by seventeen billets, 
representing, it is said, the union of the ten States of 
the Netherlands with the seven States of Holland under 
the rule of William. 

The princes of Orange received a recognition from 
the Emperor Charles V., which permitted them to 
place the Imperial crown above the helmet, which is 
the emblem of bravery in war. 

When the explorer Hendrick Hudson came to 
America and established here a trading settlement he 
and his followers brought with them the spirit, history 
and traditions of those who had fought so bravely during 
the previous century under the leadership of Prince 
William. It is quite natural, therefore, that the shield 
of the great prince of the Netherlands should have been 
the foundation of the emblem of the Reformed Church 
in America which sprang from the Reformed Church in 



AN HISTORIC CHURCH 




THE SHIELD OF 'WILLIAM THE SILENT, PRINCE OF ORANGE 




THE EMBLEM OF THE REFORMED CHURCH IN AMERICA 



AN HISTORIC CHURCH 

Holland, and that by simply making some slight addi- 
tions^ such as adding the two grand mottoes^ and the 
columns and the stars, which are symbols of churchly 
organization, the church should have become possessed 
of a coat-of-arms which brings with it historic prestige 
running back over three hundred years. 



This ecclesiastical emblem has grown in popularity 
during recent years. Many churches have given it a 
place of honor: some on stained glass windows, others 
on tablets and shields ; while its use on orders of service, 
and on programmes for Christmas and Easter and 
Sunday School Festivals and at Missionary Conventions 
is quite general. 

The shield, surmounted by one of the mottoes, has 
been made into a beautifully embossed pin, and is re- 
produced in gold, silver and enamel. In the latter the 
colors are shown as in the original. These pins may 
be obtained at the Reformed Church Building. 




THE CHURCH PIN 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




014 108 830 



